


The Stars Shine On

by SkyTintedWater



Category: Cleverman
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, F/F, Misses Clause, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 06:47:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12811938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyTintedWater/pseuds/SkyTintedWater
Summary: In a not-too-distant future two women (one human, one hairy) swap stories by the campfire.





	The Stars Shine On

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sevenofspade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevenofspade/gifts).



> _I'd love futurefic where everything is okay and they're happy, either because the government got its shit together ethics-wise or because the two of them made it out somewhere._  
>  When I picture the future of Cleverman, I picture this, or something like it.  
> Happy Yuletide, fellow Cleverman fan.

Alinta bends over, her hands on her knees as she fights for breath. She’s always considered herself fit but, watching her girlfriend climb the cliff face in a few jumps while Alinta took the slow, human way, makes her want to renew her gym membership.  
At least the scenery is beautiful. From here she can see all the way to the city, the concrete and steel a backdrop against the green and grey bush spread beneath her. This land, so often a site of carnage and war, is at peace.  
She hopes that this time it will stick.  
‘Are you coming or what?’  
Alinta turns to glare at her girlfriend. ‘I’m going as fast as I can. Not all of us are super-strong, you know!’  
Latani just laughs and settles herself on a nearby boulder to wait.  
‘Are we at the border yet?’ asks Alinta when she can breathe again.  
‘Not yet. It’s on the other side of the waterfall.’  
At the border of the Bindawu people and the Flat-landers Latani tips her head back and whistles, long and high-pitched. Alinta isn’t sure of the exact meaning, except that it’s acknowledgement of the people who live on the land now and all of those who came before.  
There is an answering whistle and Latani nods, satisfied. ‘All good. Let’s go.’  
Her girlfriend sighs and follows, glad that she packed light.  
The clearing isn’t much further in and Alinta throws her pack and then herself down on the ground in relief. Unrolling her sleeping bag can wait until the air no longer claws at her throat.  
Latani is laughing at her again. ‘C’mon, Softie. We need to get this fire lit before the sun goes down.’  
Alinta sits up and together she and her girlfriend gather fallen branches and twigs until they have a pile that will last them until morning. Alinta lights the fire while Latani makes them simple sandwiches for tea.  
Fed, warm and happy, they unroll their sleeping bags next to each other and lay back, hands touching as they watch the sun sink below the horizon and the stars come into view.  
Alinta’s almost asleep when Latani speaks. ’Do you see the emu?’ she asks, pointing.  
‘No, where?’  
‘There. Next to the Southern Cross.’  
‘I just see stars. Well, if I squint I can see legs, kind of.’  
Latani shifts closer so their heads are just touching. She takes Alinta’s hand in her own and points with both of their fingers. ‘Those are the legs, those stars there. And that dark area, that’s her body, all those feathers. And there, see, her beak always points east, so she can watch the sunrise.’  
They swap stories until the fire sinks low beside them. The eyes of both women, one human and one Hairy, gently close. They breathe in sync as they turn, without conscious thought, towards each other to embrace in their sleep.  
Below them, the city sleeps too, safe in the knowledge that everyone is welcome there. Around them, the bush is awake, and watching.  
And above them, the stars shine on.


End file.
